Into the Fire
by Elissaria
Summary: War is on the horizon, and for Murayama Kasai, the only place left to turn to is the Village Hidden in the Leaves. With his unique and unpopular origins, he must prove that he can be a splendid Shinobi and an asset to his village. He must go into the Land of Fire, and journey into the fires of war, to prove to the village and himself exactly what he is capable of.
1. Chapter 1

**{A/N} I do not own the manga/anime that is Naruto. I just write fictional stories about it. Please enjoy and leave a review. This story doesn't have a beta and I can't catch all of my own mistakes, so if there is one feel free to point it out.**

* * *

Murayama Kasai stared across the wide clearing at his burning home and felt the first stirrings of grief break through the traumatic shock he was in. The darkness of night and the distance were the only things that shrouded his presence from the Iwa hunter-nins, but he could see them. Their dark forms were outlined by the fire that they had started in his home as they crouched around it watching the small house burn. Even at the age of seven, the boy knew that the faces under those white porcelain masks would be blank, showing no emotion about the deaths they had just caused. The deaths of his parents.

Murayama Kozo and Murayama Yuna had fled Iwagakure at the end of the Second Shinobi War and had fled to the land of their enemies, the Land of Fire. The couple had been disillusioned by the death and destruction caused by the war and had vowed that they would have no more part in it. Young and idealistic though they were, the pair managed to escape the Land of Earth into the enemy's territory, shedding their Hitae-ate and the rest of their gear to disappear quietly into the countryside. The pair had reasoned that rather low profile Jonin and a career Chunin wouldn't be missed in the chaos that followed Iwa's retreat out of Ame.

With nothing more than the clothes on their back the two former Iwa ninjas started a new life in the rich land that was the Land of Fire, becoming prosperous farmers, a humble profession that kept food on the table, money in the pocket, and a distinctly low profile to any who might be interested. After a few years of peace and solitude their lives were disrupted by the birth of their son, Kasai.

As all children are wont to do, the boy immediately ingratiated himself into the hearts of his parents and they doted on the baby. As he grew, Kasai learned at an incredible rate, crawling, walking, and talking well before he was supposed to. Kozo would watch his son show him something new he had learned with delight and always had a wide smile, and words of encouragement for his only son. His mother Yuna would only sigh, bemoaning the trouble that her two boys would get into, but always there to kiss a scraped knee, and give a stern lecture.

Four years after Kasai's birth, the rumblings of war were again on the horizon. Whispers in the night suggested the Iwa and Kumo were plotting against Konoha after being humiliated after the Second War. The presence of Konoha shinobi increased as well. Kasai always saw a few when he went to town with his father. Whenever they were in town Kasai noticed a curious phenomenon. His father, normally swift and sure in his movements, would slow down and slouch, seemingly hiding his true self from observers in the town.

Kasai listened to many hushed late night arguments about current events between his parents. They were away from it for the most part, being on the outskirts of the Land of Fire close to both the borders of Taki and Tetsu no Kuni. It was close enough to make his parents worry though, but Kasai didn't understand at the time. What he did understand was that when he turned five his parents decided to reveal to him that they were in fact Shinobi, and that for his own protection they were going to start teaching him.

The subject of shinobi seemed to be sensitive for Kasai's parents. On one hand he could tell that neither of them truly wanted to teach him, but he could pick up the tell-tale signs that something had scared his parents enough that they were going to anyways. On the other hand, both seemed to be proud of their shinobi heritage and they told him stories of the Elemental Countries that filled his young mind with tales of far flung battles and heroes.

Kasai's training started early in the morning, when he went out with his father to tend their farm. The hard physical labor toughened his small body and though he complained as his joints and muscles burned with tiredness, his words dried up as soon as his father explained that Shinobi must be strong of body, and that his work on the farm would get him there. In the afternoons he would rest and listen to his mother talk about chakra, the energy that all Shinobi used. It fascinated him, this unseen energy that let his father leap from tree to tree without any effort at all, or let his mother raise a wall of earth out of the ground with nothing more than handsigns and words. He greedily lapped up all the knowledge of chakra that he could and the day that he unlocked his was the happiest day of his short life.

When he turned six his father began to teach him taijutsu. Kozo called it Strong Rock style, and explained that all aspiring Shinobi of Iwagakure learned this taijutsu style at Iwa's academy. It seemed to fit with his growing body, already the signs of great height and wide shoulders could be seen on his frame, which in the future would allow him to use the simple but powerful style effectively. For now though, his father taught him the basic kata's and kept up with his physical training. To go along with that, his mother began teaching him about how to actually use chakra. Again he absorbed information on chakra like a sponge. He learned the twelve hand seals as well as how to mold chakra. His mother began to teach him the the simple jutsu that was the rite of passage of all Iwa shinobi, _Doton: Doryuheki_.

Even though a B-rank technique, manipulating the earth to create a small wall was well within the range of all Iwa shinobi, and as Kasai's parents mentioned, was part of the graduation test to Genin for Iwagakure Shinobi. Kasai's progress with it was slow but after months of practicing he was able to raise a wall of earth of a height and thickness that pleased his parents, and the small boy loved every moment of it. Manipulating the elemental forces of nature was the most exciting and exhilarating thing the small boy had ever experienced, even though he had barely scratched the surface.

Alongside his jutsu studies and taijutsu practice, his parents showed him the all purpose tool and weapon of a ninja, the kunai. His parents taught him how to grip it, to throw it accurately, and to fight with it in his hands. The black dagger slammed home the point that, he really was training how to kill. Taijutsu and Ninjutsu didn't seem to him that they were designed for killing, but whenever a kunai he threw thudded into the outline of a human that was painted on the side of a tree he shivered a bit on the inside.

At seven his training continued, but Kasai became curious. Why did his family live in the Land of Fire, but train him how to be an Iwa shinobi? When he asked the question his parents gave each other and then him a grave look, and then sat him down to explain the reality of the wars between the nations. They explained the disillusionment with Iwagakure and death that it had reaped during the Second War and their decision to flee. Kozo and Yuna were Iwagakure shinobi born and bred, and even though they lived in the Land of Fire whose hidden village was Konoha, they could only train him how they had been trained. When Kasai asked why they couldn't just go to Konoha and be ninja there his parents only gave him a sad smile, but refused to say any more.

His life continued in this way for a time and he was happy, but two months after his seventh birthday hostilities had exploded between Konoha and Iwa and fighting raged between the two armies across Kusagakure. An expression of worry appeared near constantly on Kasai's parents faces, and they began preparing for the worst, knowing how Iwa operated. Their special forces and hunter-nin would infiltrate their enemies lands and sow terror throughout the populace. That was how Kasai found himself watching his home burn.

* * *

 _Thirty Minutes Ago_

 _Kasai was going through a few of the more advanced kata for the Strong Rock style outside in the shade of a particularly large tree that shaded him from the heat of the sun. He had been practicing for hours running through all of the exercises with precision and only stopped when the yellow orb in the sky finally began to bleed into an orange that denoted the coming of darkness._

 _With a pleasant ache in his limbs Kasai wiped a hand across his forehead to remove sticky strands of black hair and try and tame the mess of it that sat atop his head. At seven he was nearly four feet tall, which according to his parents meant he was going to be larger than most when he hit his full growth. For now though he was content with just being taller than everyone in his age group, or so he was told, he didn't have much contact with anyone other than his parents. To go along with his dark hair he had deep, dark brown eyes. From working in the fields every day his skin was deeply tanned and he had developed a muscular physique, as muscular as a seven year old child could get. His strength belied his size though because of the unconscious and minute chakra enhancement that he used whenever he did anything physical. All of this combined, according to his mother, made him look very much like many Iwagakure shinobi._

 _The boy meandered towards his house, enjoying the way the oranges and reds of the sunset framed his house, giving it an almost ethereal glow. Sunset and sunrise were his favorite times of the day. The normal yellow sun was boring to Kasai and so watching the transitions between day and night across the sky's vast canvas filled him with a sense of wonderment. He entered his home and found his mother in the kitchen, humming quietly to herself as she cooked. When he came into the kitchen she glanced at him and asked in her soft melodious voice, "Where is your father?"_

 _Kasai could only shrug before answering, "He helped me practice my taijutsu for a bit then went into town to see if he could get any news."_

 _Yuna nodded to herself and went back to cooking, leaving Kasai to go through the house towards his room, looking for a shower and then clean clothes to replace the sweat soaked clothes he wore. It only took him a few minutes to shower and he quickly returned to his room, shivering, to pull on black shorts and a plain green shirt. With the task of cleaning himself finished, he plopped down on his bed and grabbed a tattered book on elementary chakra manipulation. His parents had bought it from a traveling vendor and it was one of the precious few written resources he had to help him train as a shinobi. The boy had only read a paragraph before his ear caught the front door of the house slamming open and closed. Just a few seconds later his mother called out to him, her voice laced with panic, "Kasai! Come here right now!"_

 _Kasai scrambled out of his bed, book forgotten in his haste, and quickly ran into the kitchen. He was not prepared for the site of his father leaning against the kitchen counter breathing heavily and with a deep cut in his right arm. His mother was in the act of wrapping a bandage around it when Kasai found his voice, "Tou-san? What's wrong? What's going on?"_

 _With a grimace Kozo began explaining, "I ran into two Iwa hunter-nin on my way back from town. Normally they wouldn't have bothered but I think one of them recognized me. We fought and I was able to kill one but the other got away, he's surely going to warn the rest of his team and they're probably on their way here right now."_

 _Ice cold fear gripped Kasai and he started shaking, feeling his whole life beginning to come inexorably down around his head. His mother noticed and quickly finished tying off the bandage before quickly sweeping over to Kasai and pulling him into a hug, "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to us, I promise."_

 _Kasai nodded mutely and his mother let go of him, quickly moving through the house and beginning to pack up important items. His father left the room but returned a few minutes later with a small backpack that he shoved into Kasai's arms. Kozo went down onto one knee and put his hands on the small boys shoulders, forcing him to look his father in the eyes, "Son, I've packed some food and extra clothes in here for you, as well as the rest of the scrolls for you. Your mother and I have written out everything that we want you to learn in them."_

 _Lips trembling, Kasai gasped out, "Tou-san? Why are you telling me this, you're going to teach me."_

 _Kozo only gave a small smile, "Here's something I want you to always remember. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, so you have to plan for the best, expect the worst, and deal with whatever actually happens. One day you'll understand it. Now, you remember the old oak tree that we use as target practice across the clearing?"_

 _Kasai nodded and his father pressed a kunai into his hands, the grip worn and comforting, "Go and wait for your mother and I at that tree. We'll be right behind you."_

 _A determined nod and a few shaky breaths later Kasai was out the door and sprinting as fast as his small body could manage across the clearing towards the outline of white paint he could see on the oak tree. Full darkness had arrived in the scant minutes he had been in the house but it was there now, and crowding around him. He reached the tree and turned back towards his house, dropping down on his stomach to hide from the phantoms he perceived in the darkness. Light spilled from the windows of his house and he could see his parents move about with a frantic urgency that he'd never witnessed before. A minute passed and his mother passed by the window again, her long black hair near streaming behind her in her haste but as she passed she stopped, and he could tell even at a distance that her body had tensed and her hand had drifted down towards the kunai pouch he knew would be wrapped around her right leg._

 _The attack happened so fast that Kasai had blinked and missed it. One moment he could see his mother standing stock still in front of the window, and the next the house was on fire and shadows darted around it, the clanging of metal on metal echoing through the woods. Two figures danced into his view, their bodies bending and twisting as they fought with breathtaking speed. Kasai couldn't see it but he knew that one of the combatants had made a mistake. A shiver ran down his back as he watched one of them collapse bonelessly to the ground. He gripped one of the roots of the oak tree that extruded from the ground in pure terror, hoping against hope that his father or mother had been the one to strike the decisive blow. His stomach dropped and his heart stopped though when the figure turned and gazed out over the clearing, the firelight in the background reflecting off of the demonic mask the figure wore. Suddenly six other figures appeared around the one that had slain his parent and they looked like they were conversing. One of them picked up the limp body on the ground and Kasai recognized his mother, her hair falling from her head and trailing limply on the ground as the Iwa hunter-nin carelessly tossed her body through one of the houses windows, consigning the body of Kasai's mother to be consumed by the flames._

 _Murayama Kasai stared across the wide clearing at his burning home and felt the first stirrings of grief break through the traumatic shock he was in._

* * *

A war raged within Kasai. His heart told him to leave the protective cover of darkness, run towards the men and women who had killed his parents and wreak vengeance upon them. His brain meanwhile, injected doses of body numbing fear into his seven year old body, reminding him that he would in no way shape or form be able to put a scratch on any of the people that his heart demanded he crush. His soul was deadlocked but his body moved of its own accord, perhaps on some survival instinct, when he felt a presence behind him. The kunai that he'd forgotten about in his white knuckled grip whipped across in front of him as he rolled from his stomach to his back, instinctively attempting to avoid being impaled for staying in one place. His actions were for naught though as a large hand grabbed his wrist and another covered his mouth, muffling his instinctive scream. A voice whispered in his ear, "Shut up kid, we don't want them to find us."

Kasai closed his eyes as his heart leapt into his throat, beating faster and faster every moment, waiting to follow his parents into the afterlife. A few minutes of tenseness and his body couldn't hold it anymore. He let the kunai slip out of his grasp to land softly in the dirt and opened his eyes to see a face hidden by darkness and a hitae-ate staring past him. His body slowly relaxed as he realised he wasn't dead and a moment later the man holding him down relaxed as well, turning his gaze from the burning house to the small boy beneath him. The man spoke softly, "Looks like those Iwa bastards are gone."

With a start, Kasai realized that on his words three other presences had appeared around them, crouching down, hidden by the darkness and the forest. The man that held him down spoke softly again, "Alright kid, let's start with names. Mine is Watanabe Kinoue, what's yours."

The hand holding his mouth lifted slightly and Kasai breathed in fresh air for a moment that wasn't laced with dirt and sweat before saying shakily, "Murayama Kasai."

Watanabe spoke again, "Alright Murayama-san. We're going to take you back to our camp and you're going to answer some questions okay?"

Kasai's dark brown eyes widened as he breathed out, "But… Tou-san. Kaa-san."

Another member of the party spoke up, this time a woman's soft alto, "Sorry kid, but they're already gone."

Kasai's breath hitched, tears welled in his eyes, and his body started to shake uncontrollably as the horrible truth that he already knew was vocalized. The man holding him simply sighed but was shoved out of the way as the woman said irritably, "Move you insensitive clod."

A pair of warm arms picked him up and embraced him. Kasai instinctively wrapped his arms around her neck, feeling long soft hair, and buried his face into the crook of her neck. He let the tears flow freely and his body shook with quiet sobs. The woman crooned softly, "Shhh. It's alright kid. I've got you now."

Watanabe sighed heavily again, "Come on let's get back to camp, we'll get answers out of the brat there."

With startling suddenness Kasai felt the woman stand up and suddenly they were flying through the trees. This, plus the hitae-ate's, proved that whoever had grabbed him were ninjas, although who's ninja's he couldn't tell. The darkness had kept him from being able to see the insignia on the mysterious ninjas hitae-ate, but he could make a reasonable deduction. Since he was in the Land of Fire, they were most like Konoha ninjas. Kasai didn't have a problem with Leaf ninjas, but with a sudden burst of panic he realized that they might have a problem with him.

The thought had just hit him that he was the son of two Iwa ninjas and Iwa was definitely at war with Konoha when they descended from the tree's and into a campsite. There were three tents set up in a tiny clearing, with a firepit off to the side. When heat flared up from it Kasai noted in the back of his mind that someone must have used a Katon jutsu to start a fire. The woman who was holding him in her arms and who he was desperately gripping muttered to the other three, "Go set a picket around the campsite, this kid needs a woman's touch."

With a nearly silent rush of air the other three were gone and Kasai was suddenly sitting on a rock near the fire. The fire gave off enough light that he could finally make out the features of the woman who had carried him. She wore a Leaf Hitae-ate on her forehead that helped hold back her brown hair into a short ponytail. Her eyes, a lighter shade of brown than his, reflected the firelight and her full lips were turned up in a warm smile. She knelt down in front of him and said in a kind voice, "Now, why don't you tell me exactly what happened."

Kasai decided that he was in a tough spot. His parents were former Iwa ninjas, and had made it plain that Konoha despised people like them. Konoha was also currently at war with Iwagakure. The people who had rescued him and the woman in front of him were all Konoha ninjas, so by dint of who they were, they would not like his parents. Kasai settled for saying dully, "You won't like my answer."

One of the woman's eyebrows quirked, he was being awfully defensive for a kid, but her smile never wavered, "Come on, you can tell me. We got you away from the bad men so nothing else bad can happen."

With a childish innocence he whispered after a few moments, "Promise?"

The warm smile never wavered, "Promise."

The dam burst. Kasai told her about his parents and their origins. He told her of what had happened earlier that night, the Iwa hunter nins and the hurried packing that hadn't been fast enough. When he finished the warm smile was gone and her expression was grave. Kasai waited for the inevitable betrayal by his rescuer but she only sighed and pulled him into another hug before whispering, "Sorry about your parents kid."

Kasai nodded into her shoulder before speaking again, his words muffled by her vest, "I don't know what to do. I don't even know who you are. I'm so lost."

The woman broke their hug and leaned back, "Oh, how rude of me. I didn't even introduce myself before asking for your life's story. My name is Saitama Suzuki, it's very nice to meet you."

Kasai felt a hint of a smile tug reluctantly at his lips, "Murayama Kasai."

"There you go. Now as for what you're going to do. Right now you're going to eat this ration bar, it tastes terrible but it'll fill you up. After that my squad and I are going to take you back to Konoha with us."

With widening eyes Kasai scrambled for words, "But… my parents are from Iwa."

Suzuki shrugged, "Well, they weren't fighting us, and if what you said is correct they deserted after the last war. Plus, you're not from Iwa. You were born in the Land of Fire, so you have nothing to worry about."

Kasai could only nod and chew on the nasty ration bar as the woman began to wax eloquent about the Land of Fire and Konoha. In a tightly locked up part of his mind, he was screaming that this woman was only making small talk to try and make him forget about his problems, and his parents, and his shattered life. The small boy ignored those thoughts in favor of listening intently to Suzuki. After a while though, and then all of a sudden, his eyelids began to droop and his arms and legs began to feel like lead. Suzuki noticed and stopped her monologuing to say, "Alright Kasai-kun. I think it's time you go to bed. It's been a tough day for you."

The brunette gently grabbed one of Kasai's hands and led him over to a tent and saying, "You can use my sleeping bag, it's the only one in there."

Kasai glanced at her before saying tiredly, "Don't you need to use it though."

With a chuckle almost too low and too quiet for Kasai to hear Suzuki chided, "I'm a ninja and an adult, I can for a few days without sleeping. Plus I'm a Leaf ninja, I can rough it without a tent or a sleeping bag unlike those Iwa wimps."

Kasai smiled at her feeble attempt at humor, it hadn't cheered him any but he was glad someone tried, "Okay Saitama-san, I'll go to sleep now."

At his words a faux look of horror came over the woman's face, "Saitama-san? I gave you my sleeping bag, tent, and ration bar! Aren't we friends?"

Kasai sputtered at her teasing, "Well… I mean… My mother always told me to be polite to everyone."

Suzuki crouched down to his level and with a mischievous smile said, "Come on, just between us, you can use my given name."

"Suzuki-san?"

Her smile never wavering Suzuki stood back up and ruffled his hair, "Good enough kid. Now go get some sleep."

Kasai nodded and crouched down to enter the small tent. He could barely see in the darkness and felt around until he found a light sleeping bag. Carefully placing his backpack off to the side so that he didn't lose the precious items within he then slid into the sleeping bag. Within a second he had bonelessly relaxed into it, not even feeling the hard ground underneath the relatively thin material. The last thing he heard before falling into the deepest sleep of his life were the quiet voices of Suzuki's returned teammates.

In the morning a soft hand shook him awake and through bleary eyes he saw Suzuki's lips moving, "Up you get Kasai-kun, we've got a long day ahead of us."

Her head withdraw from the tent and it took a moment for the reality of the situation to sink in. Kasai let his head drop back onto ground with a groan before sighing and climbing out of the sleeping bag. Summer was nearing its end but the morning autumn chill hadn't arrived yet and he was pleasantly surprised not to be glanced around and found his backpack and let curiosity get the better of him. Quickly scooting over to his backpack he undid the straps atop it and flung back the flap, looking inside. As his father had told him there were a number of books and scrolls, as well as a pair of shirts and another green shirt for him. What intrigued him though was the envelope that sat atop it all, so he quickly grabbed it and ripped it open, nearly ripping the paper inside in his haste to pull it out. He unfolded the paper with shaky hands and in sloppy and hurried handwriting he read his father's last words to him.

 _Kasai_

 _Your mother and I are dead. The life of a shinobi is one of deception and I am sorry to say that we have deceived you. We have no intention of following you, the hunter-nin will surely track us down slay the entire family. Your mother and I will erase your existence and stay behind so that you can escape freely. Do not mourn us but live a good life, that is all any parent wishes. The reason that we did not want to take you to Konoha to become a ninja was because we did not want you to have to bear the stigma that will surely come from your origins. Now though, you must go there and become a ninja. Be proud of your heritage and never let anyone put you down because of it, but make a new life in Konoha as a Leaf ninja._

 _Your proud Father_

Kasai read the letter once and that was all he needed to burn it into his memory. It was all he ever needed to burn written word into memory. For as long as he'd been able to read he had vexed his parents with his perfect memory. They told him that it was called Eidetic memory, and that it would serve him well in life, allowing him to recall perfectly things he had seen or read. They had been proud of the fact that he could read a book once, thoroughly but once, and recite it back to them perfectly. They had also grumbled about having to find him more reading material that was already scarce. A memory sprang unbidden to his mind of his mother's smiling face, and her outstretched hand with a book held towards him.

The newly orphaned boy took a deep shuddering breath before closing his eyes and concentrating, taking a slow and deep one. With great effort he envisioned a black door in his mind and opened it, shoving all of his grief and trauma and horror behind it before slamming it shut. With a loud click he firmly locked the door and then willed it to disappear again. Opening his eyes the boy gave himself a slight, but decisive, nod. He got up and quickly shed his grass stained clothes for the new ones he had found in the pack. Folding his old ones and replacing them in the backpack he cinched it back up before exiting the tent and quickly pulling the straps onto his shoulders.

Suzuki and Kinoue were standing around the fire with the two other men in their squad. The other two tents in the clearing were knocked down and Kasai could see them packed up on the backs of the two men he didn't know. Suzuki gave him a smile when he walked over and joined them at the fire and introduced everyone, "Alright Kasai-kun. You already know Kinoue. The tall one is Kosuke and the short one is Shigure."

Kasai opened his mouth to politely introduce himself again but Shigure burst out, "Damnit Suzuki-chan! I'm not that short!"

Kosuke was standing next to Shigure and was tall enough to lean over and rest his elbow on top of his comrades head, "Yes you are."

In a flash Shigure had swiped at Kosuke with a kunai and started to chase the taller man around the clearing, shouting insults. Kasai watched with wide eyes before turning to the woman next to him, "Suzuki-san… Is there something wrong with them?"

The stony facade she was trying to keep on her face cracked a little bit and a tiny sound escaped from her throat that might have been the beginnings of a giggle. Kasai went on, "They're pretty loud, aren't they worried the Iwa-nin will find us?"

Suzuki glanced at him and said seriously, "No, that's not how they operate. It's daylight and they've just attacked someone, they've gone to ground and we won't see hide or hair of them for a few days. We've been tracking this group for a month but it wasn't until last night that we got an accurate count of them. Seven is too much for us to handle, especially since we don't know what rank all of them are. We haven't had time to thin out all of their jounin level hunter-nin."

Curiosity got the better of Kasai, "Jounin? My dad said he was a Jounin and mom was a Chunin but I don't really know what that means."

Suzuki raised an eyebrow at him, "What were they teaching you?"

Kasai shrugged, "Practical things. Kunai and taijutsu. I don't think they thought I would ever join a village and need to know things like jounins and chunins."

Her eyebrow still raised but with a slight look of understanding in her eye Suzuki explained everything to him. There were three main ranks for ninja. Genin was the lowest, comprised mainly of younger shinobi who didn't have much in the way of combat skill or experience or shinobi with just enough talent to pass the academy but not enough to advance in rank. Chunin was the next rank. The bulk of every villages ninja population was comprised of chunin. These shinobi were squad leaders and had enough experience to be trusted fighting other ninja. Above them came the jounin. Jounin were the best each village had to offer, a master of whatever skill they specialized in, and proficient in everything else. They were tasked with carrying out the hardest missions that villages took, anything from sabotage to assassinations.

There were other various ranks, tokubetsu jounin and ANBU for instance, but those were the main three. Suzuki explained that their group was made up of Chunin, ones who had a good deal of experience, but chunin nonetheless, "If that other group has more than one jounin, and I'd be willing to be that they do, we wouldn't stand much of a chance even if we set up a good ambush for them."

Kasai nodded in understanding, "I see, so you're going to go back to Konoha and ask for reinforcements?"

This got another smile out of Suzuki, "You catch on quick kid."

"It just seems like the smartest thing to do."

She nodded again and then stretched her arms upwards, limbering her body up. After a groan of satisfaction she said, "Alright then, camps packed up and we need to move out."

Kasai whirled around and saw that the tent he'd been in was indeed packed up. Kinoue had moved over to it and packed it up without Kasai ever noticing. He heard Suzuki give a warm chuckle and glared up at her before she said innocently, "What you didn't know we were packing up? We are in kind of a hurry."

Pointing a finger at Shigure and Kosuke, Kasai said in a deadpan, "Are you sure about that?"

"Oi!"

In a flash the two were standing next to Suzuki, along with Kinoue. Suzuki grinned at him, "Ready to go?"

Kasai crossed his arms and grumbled, "It's going to be a long trip. I can't even jump through the trees yet."

With a yelp Kasai was grabbed by Kinoue and slung around piggyback onto the man. Suzuki smiled, "We drew straws for who had to carry you and Kinoue lost."

The aforementioned man grumbled, "You're heavy kid."

Kasai snorted, "Kaa-san can still pick me up and she doesn't complain. Plus she's smaller than you are. Wimp."

The other three in their group burst out laughing and before long tears were streaming down Kosuke and Shigure's faces. Kinoue's head turned and he glared at Kasai, "Oi! Do you want me to drop you while we're in the tree's?"

"I'm just stating a fact. You can't get mad at me for telling the truth can you?"

Kasai used his best innocent eyes that he used on his parents when he really wanted something on the man that was currently carrying him and they worked because he grumbled and turned his head around before shouting, "Alright, let's just go."

It took the group three days to travel to Konoha. Kasai stayed quiet throughout the rest of the trip, letting the others do most of the talking. Flying through the trees on the backs of the ninja made everything real to him. He wouldn't see his parents again, his room, his house, the fields where he grew up. Kasai didn't really feel different than he had a few days ago, but he knew that he was different. He just wasn't quite sure how yet.

His first sight of Konoha was breathtaking. Kasai wasn't paying attention and was just watching the landscape flow by when the squad of ninjas jumped down from the tree's and onto a road. He glanced around and the first thing he saw were the huge gates. He'd never seen anything so big in his life. Stretching out from the gates were the monstrous walls that protected the village. Suzuki chuckled when she noticed the look of awe and Kasai's gaping mouth, "First time seeing the village eh? It's pretty amazing isn't it."

It was amazing. Through the gates Kasai could see a long street lined with shops and stalls with people moving to and fro. There were more people on that one street than Kasai had seen in his entire lifetime. He could hear the swell of their voices one hundred yards away they were so loud. It was the most awe inspiring thing Kasai had ever seen.

Kinoue dropped him and Kasai instinctively landed on his feet, still gaping at the village. The chunin cuffed him lightly across the head and said, "Let's go. I want to give my report and then go sleep for a week."

The squad of shinobi plus one walked through the gates, checking in at the guard station manned by two chunin, and made their way towards the giant cliff face near the back of the village. It had three huge stone faces carved into it and Kasai was curious about them so he grabbed Suzuki's sleeve and when he got her attention pointed to them and asked, "Who are they?"

Suzuki followed his finger and smiled, "They are the Hokage's of our village. The first was Senju Hashirama-sama, he built our village from the ground up. The second is Senju Tobirama-sama, who was the First's younger brother. The third is Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama, who is the current Hokage."

Kasai looked at them with awe, "So they're all really powerful ninja?"

Suzuki nodded, "Did you see the forest outside the gates? The First Hokage grew that forest with his unique ninjutsu, Mokuton."

Kasai looked around and then snorted, "And people go to war with a place that has monsters like that?"

The woman shrugged, "Iwa shinobi are crazy like that."

"Oi!"

Her hand came up to ruffle his hair while he glared at her, "If you can't handle a little joke like that you're going to have a rough time around here Kasai-kun."

The small boy crossed his arms, "I know. That doesn't mean I have to take it lying down though."

Suzuki gave him a warm smile, "Alright kid. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Kasai just nodded and followed the group the rest of the way to the Hokage tower, taking in the sights and sounds of the new village. The Hokage's tower was huge, and bustling with ninja. There was a constant stream of them flowing in and out of the large doors and when Kasai looked up there were ninja flitting on the rooftops to and from the building. As they entered Suzuki pointed to one part of the complex and said, "If you want to become a ninja that's where the academy is located. The rest of this building is just administration and paperwork."

Kasai nodded resolutely, "That's where I'm headed then."

He made to move in that direction but Suzuki put a hand of his shoulder and steered him back towards the direction the squad was headed, "Hold on there Kasai-kun, we need to report in and figure out what we're going to do with you first."

"What do you mean what you're going to do with me?"

Suzuki gave him a dry look, "Do you want to have a place to sleep tonight?"

The boy was nonplussed and could only reply, "Oh…"

The woman gave him a smile and ruffled his hair again, "You're a kid, no one expects you to think of everything. Now let's go."

They made their way to one of the various desks that Shinobi were reporting too and Kinoue stepped up to talk to the ninja manning the desk. After a brief conversation he came back to the group with an unexpectedly serious look, "Hokage-sama is taking a special interest in the Iwa hunter-nin groups so we're reporting directly to him."

Everyone looked surprised but went with it and the group ascended the stairs to the top of the tower. There was a secretary at a desk outside of a door that had two guards at it. Both guards wore masks with animal motifs, reminding Kasai of the masks the Iwa shinobi had worn when they slaughtered his parents. Apparently nobody was in there and so they were waved through. The guards did give him a suspicious glare, or what Kasai thought was a suspicious glare. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and the masks were inclined in a way that made it look as if they were staring at him. He decided that he definitely was not imagining it and it freaked him out a little.

When the group entered they all lined up before the Hokage's desk and Kasai made sure to stand next to Suzuki before looking at the man behind the desk, who he'd been told was the strongest ninja in the village. The Hokage was a man in the late stages of middle ages or the early part of old age, Kasai couldn't tell which. His short beard and hair were only just starting to gray and that, Kasai mused, was probably from having to do such a tough job. His smile was that of a kindly grandfather, but his eyes held the glint of steel that his own father had had. Especially when Kasai got in trouble. The various punishments in the guise of training made him shudder slightly at the memory.

While he'd been woolgathering the Hokage had finished whatever paperwork had been in front of them at the time and said tersely, "Report."

Kinoue was the squad leader so he stepped forward slightly and began. The man glossed over the month they'd spent tracking only hitting the interesting points such as where the Iwa ninja's had struck. He got to the end and said, "We finally caught up to them as they were attacking a house near the border with Iron Country. There were seven Iwa-nin and so we decided that rather than engage them we'd come back to report and get reinforcements."

The Hokage looked like he was about to speak but Kasai beat him to it, "There were eight. Tou-san killed one of them."

All of the attention in the room suddenly turned on him but he didn't shrink back from it. Suzuki placed a hand on his head and sighed, "And you didn't tell us this why?"

Kasai could only shrug, "You didn't ask."

The Hokage decided to steer the conversation back in a direction he wanted it to go, "I think it's about time someone told me who this young man is."

It was Suzuki's turn to answer, "This is Murayama Kasai, he's the only survivor from the house the Iwa-nin hit."

The slightly grayed man behind the desk finally turned his full attention to the small boy in front of him, "Well then, Kasai-kun, why don't you tell me what happened."

Kasai shrugged again, "Tou-san went to town and met two of the Iwa ninjas on the way back. They recognized him and fought. Tou-san killed one but the other got away. He came back and gave me this backpack and told me to go hide and wait for him and Kaa-san. The hunter-nin got there before they finished whatever they were doing and killed them."

With a grave nod the Hokage sighed quietly and spoke again, "I see. How did the Rock ninjas recognize your father."

"He used to be an Iwa ninja too."

If Kasai hadn't had the Hokage's attention before he was sure that he had it now. The rooms features seemed to sharpen and the air seemed to press down on Kasai. The Hokage didn't seem angry, but he was radiating power and when he leaned forward the small boy couldn't help but take a small step back, "I think you should tell me everything."

Kasai did. Without a moment of hesitation. He was sure that something really bad would happen if he didn't so he gave everything up. After he was finished with the fastest explanation he'd given in his short life the pressure on him seemed to abate a small bit. The Hokage didn't lean back though and his gaze still pinned Kasai in place. The elderly statesmen didn't give anything away as he steepled his hands and said, "So, what to do with you now."

"I'm going to be a ninja."

"Oh?" The Hokage's lips curved upwards in a small smile, "You're a bit old to start at the academy. You would be playing a lot of catch up."

Kasai waved his hand in a blase act that only a child could get away with in front of the Hokage, "I'm already in great shape and I'm pretty good at taijutsu already. I can handle a kunai and throw it with reasonable accuracy. I have unlocked my chakra and can use it. I bet I'm ahead of most of your academy students in practical skills."

Suzuki immediately clapped him on the back of the head, "It's not nice to boast Kasai-kun."

Showing his age after a very mature assessment of his own skills Kasai whined back, "But it's true. Tou-san is a really good teacher."

A loud cough from the Hokage got their attention again, "Well, if you're confident in your skills we shall see what the Academy Instructors say. Suzuki-chan, I assume you will be taking responsibility for this young man?"

The woman frowned thoughtfully, "I can put him up for a few days and get him on his feet but I still have to run missions and I'm getting deployed to Kusa in a few months. It wouldn't feel right just leaving a seven year old kid in my apartment all on his lonesome."

Kasai grimaced and said mulishly, "I'm fine. I can get a job and work hard and take care of myself."

Suzuki put a soothing hand on his shoulder, "No one thinks you can't. But we can't in good conscience let you run around by yourself, so you'll stick with me until we figure out something else."

The small boy was about to argue but the Hokage interjected, "I do believe that is everything. Suzuki-chan, if you would take Kasai-kun down to the academy level I believe Hiruki-sensei is free at the moment. Please have him test the boy. The rest of you have a week of recovery before you will be called back for another mission."

Everyone recognized the dismissal and Suzuki and the rest replied, "Of course, Hokage-sama."

The sole woman in the room quickly steered Kasai out the door and they were followed by the rest of her squad. After a few quick words they dispersed and Kasai was left with Suzuki. She began to lead him downstairs and said, "What brought all that on? You were really disrespectful to Hokage-sama."

Kasai crossed his arms, "Nobody takes responsibility of me. The only people that have a responsibility for me are Tou-san and Kaa-san."

Suzuki sighed and hit him over the head, metaphorically, "Kasai-kun, your parents are dead. You are all of seven years old. You may not like it but somebody has to look after you."

The two of them were in an empty hallway and so nobody saw Kasai throw a punch at the woman next to him. She easily caught it and then crouched down to his level, keeping a tight grip on his fist, "Look kid, let it out. You've been way too accepting of everything that's happened. You need to grieve and you haven't been."

Kasai stared into her eyes and then took a deep breath, "I'm fine."

She cocked an eyebrow at him and glanced pointedly at his small fist still caught in her hand. Kasai at least had the grace to look embarrassed and mutter an apology. Suzuki smiled kindly at him, "We're going to get you tested and I'm sure Hiruki-sensei will test your taijutsu. Why don't you take some of your anger out on him."

The black haired boy visibly brightened and Suzuki laughed, "Just make sure you don't let it affect your technique. You have to make a good impression after all."

With a little extra spring in his step Kasai followed Suzuki down the stairs and over into the academy. There were less people in this part of the complex, probably because the students had all gone home for the day. The pair passed empty classrooms as they walked and soon they entered a small suite of offices. There was only one person left and Suzuki called over to him, "Hiruki-sensei! I have someone here that Hokage-sama wants you to test."

The man perked up and then stood up with a smile, "Thank you. Anything to get away from grading these blasted tests for a few minutes."

Kasai looked the man up and down. He wore what Kasai was beginning to assume was standard dress for a chunin, black pants and shirt with the olive green flak jacket over it. He was a good foot and a half taller than Kasai's own four feet but had a leaner body than Kasai knew he would grow into. His brown has was slicked back in the front, not by design it seemed, but because he had been running his hands through his hair in frustration for a long amount of time. Kasai couldn't stifle a grin at the thought and the man mistook the emotion, "Oh? It looks like he's excited. Why don't you tell me what's going on Suzuki-san."

After a quick explanation Hiruki ran his hands through his hair again, this time with a thoughtful air about him, "Hmm… this could work out very well. How proficient are you at the Iwagakure style of taijutsu?"

Kasai smiled again, "Isn't that something you're supposed to test?"

Hiruki smiled wryly, "I guess it is. Why don't we take this outside."

All three of them quickly went outside and Hiruki led them over to the small sparring ring next to a large copse of trees. The two of them quickly stepped into the ring while Suzuki stayed on the perimeter to watch. Both slid into their opening stances and Hiruki said, "Alright, we'll spar until I get a good assessment of your skills and stop you."

Kasai nodded and as soon as Hiruki said, "Begin!" he slid forward and threw a kick at the taller man's midsection. It was easily blocked and Kasai quickly recovered and began a blistering assault on the Chunin in front of him. It was all quickly blocked and he never really got in a good hit, but it was cathartic for the small boy. Taijutsu wasn't Kasai's favorite aspect of the shinobi arts but he had to admit that hitting something with his fist gave him a different kind of satisfaction than hitting something with a jutsu. He nearly missed the punch that would have caught him in the side of the head but was able to duck under it just in time. His return punch was about to thunk into Hiruki's abdomen when his feet were swept out from under him and he suddenly found himself staring up at the darkening sky flat on his back.

He was about to hop up when Hiruki said with a smile, "Alright, that's enough."

The man helped him up and said, "That was pretty good. I'm not sure if I can say how proficient you are, it's a style that I don't know, but you're definitely good enough to be placed in the third year class based on your taijutsu alone."

Suzuki had walked over to them and when she heard what the man had to say she ruffled Kasai's hair, "Good job kid. That was better than I thought you'd do."

Kasai grinned and Hiruki looked excited, "This is excellent. I think I'm going to put you in the class regardless of your other skills. You are going to be a priceless training asset."

The black haired boy cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

Hiruki continued, "Our students will be able to get some experience against the Iwagakure taijutsu. It will give them an edge in combat when they've already seen how it works and have practiced against it."

Suzuki nodded, "Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I wish we'd had that back when I went through the academy."

With a smile Hiruki glanced back at him, "Do you know any jutsu?"

Kasai nodded and then went through a series of hand seals before slamming his hands into the ground, " **Doton: Doryuheki!** "

A wall of earth rose up until it was six feet high, three feet wide, and almost a foot thick. It was larger than he'd ever managed when working with his parents and he felt exhausted afterwards. It might have been the spar with Hiruki or it might have been the extra emotion he was feeling but he had put much more chakra than usual into the jutsu and it showed. He panted while Suzuki stared at the wall slack jawed and Hiruki whistled. The academy instructor said admiringly, "What the hell have your parents been teaching you?"

Kasai stood up and shrugged, taking large gulps of air to try and get his breath back, "That jutsu is part of the Iwagakure academy graduation test."

Suzuki grumbled, "No wonder every one of those bastards knows it. A squad of Iwa ninjas can throw up a big barrier in a few seconds. It's hard to dislodge them from a position that they've fortified."

Hiruki frowned, "It means they've already started elemental manipulation in the academy. Here it's only the Uchiha that do that, and it's just that one fire jutsu."

The two adults started a discussion of the academy training regimen but Kasai tuned that out. He wiped a hand across his sweaty brow, removing a few strands of his black hair from it, and looked around. The Hokage's tower rose up behind him and as he looked out the rest of the Hidden Village stretched out in front of him. It wasn't bad, Kasai decided, and he didn't think he'd mind living here.

It was large, but he could get used to that. Having spent most of his life cloistered in his home with only his parents, rarely going into town, he didn't have much experience with people. He decided that he wouldn't let it bother him. He also decided that he wouldn't let the stigma of his origins bother him either. He was going to be a proud Shinobi of the Leaf, and if somebody decided that they didn't like that well then tough.

While he made his life choices Suzuki and Hiruki had finished talking to each other. Suzuki smiled down at him, "You look pretty wiped out, why don't we head back to my apartment and put you to bed?"

Kasai really was too tired to argue. He let her take his hand and she led him out of the academy grounds and through the city until they came to an apartment complex. It wasn't in the greatest of shape but it wasn't a hovel either. Suzuki explained as she led him into it and to her own apartment, "This is an apartment complex subsidized by the village for genin and chunin who don't have families. Sometimes it can be hard to live off of a genin's pay and chunin isn't that much better so the village makes housing available for it's less well of shinobi."

Kasai nodded in understanding, "So I'll probably end up with an apartment like this?"

Suzuki unlocked her door and led him inside before answering impishly, "What, you don't want to live with me? I thought you liked me Kasai-kun."

Kasai was well used to her teasing after three days and he just looked at her tiredly, "Can I please go to bed now?"

Suzuki gave him a mothering smile, "Alright alright. You're not getting my couch dirty though so go clean up, bathroom is right through there."

In short order Kasai had taken a short shower and dressed himself in an overlarge pair of shorts and shirt that Suzuki had let him borrow. She settled him onto her couch with a blanket and a pillow and smiled at him as he found a comfortable position, "So, how do you think you'll like the Leaf village?"

Kasai yawned, "I think I'll like it just fine."

"Good, now get some sleep. I think we'll have a long day tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

Kasai's time at the shinobi academy was a stark mixture of boredom and being a training dummy. At Konoha's academy, during wartime, children joined at five and after four years, or less if they were prodigious, graduated. Kasai, with his already advanced knowledge of Taijutsu, enough control over a B-ranked technique to make it actually work even if it was on the small side, and a good grasp of basic weapon skills, was placed in the third year class with children a year older than him.

Catching up on the academic side of things was as easy as breathing for Kasai. In the first month of his academy career he devoured all of the texts the teachers gave him to make up for the first two years, and then discarded them, the information firmly lodged in his brain. With the village being at war, paper tests over history or other non-combat related subjects were scarce and theoretical knowledge of chakra, weapons, and foreign ninja were much more heavily emphasized. This was the boring part of the academy, with his eidetic and nearly photographic memory, he soaked up knowledge at an incredible rate and rarely missed questions on tests.

The practical was just as easy and much more interesting for Kasai. He was already in very good shape, as good as if not better than most of his classmates, and had unlocked his chakra. Having the use of his chakra was important, because unlocking it was a second-year task. During the third-year students began very basic chakra control exercises, something Kasai hadn't done much of before, as well as began to learn the theory behind the academy three techniques. The leaf sticking exercise was frustrating for him. Most of the active chakra use he had done was focused around completing the _Doton: Doryuheki_. This was all well and good, and nearly unheard of for academy age students, but it didn't lend itself to precise chakra control. The jutsu itself needed very little shaping, only enough brute force chakra to make the ground rise up. The leaf sticking exercise had Kasai using minute and precise amounts of chakra to attach a leaf to different parts of his body and finding the sweet spot between having the leaf fall off without sticking, or be pushed away by the force of his chakra, was difficult for the young boy.

The third year of the academy was also when students began to put their taijutsu lessons into practice. The first years focused on getting in shape and learning the basics of throwing a punch or a kick. In the second year the children began learning taijutsu katas, the basic movements that would, when learned, meld together to form a complete style. The academy taijutsu style was aptly named, the Little Leaf. By third year the instructors figured that the students had learned the style well enough, and were now not egregiously clumsy after two years of shinobi training, that they were allowed to spar with each other. Carefully monitored and controlled of course. This was where Kasai's time as a training dummy began. Hiruki-sensei had evidently gushed about his skills in the Iwagakure Strong Rock taijutsu style to the third year instructors, and so they put him to the test. Apparently he passed with flying colors, because they had him sparring with all of his classmates, getting them used to fighting against the average Iwagakure taijutsu.

Kasai's classmates were a matter of concern to him. They all had already had two years of classes together and formed their own social groups and cliques. His first few days he was successful in ingratiating himself into a few groups, mostly because he showed them his one jutsu that, while no great blast of flame like the Uchiha of the class, was reasonably cool to eight year olds. When the class began sparring though, and his knowledge of Iwagakure techniques and his origin became semi-public, he was immediately ostracized. Kasai knew intellectually, and Suzuki had told him, that children could be cruel. They were making the connection that since Kasai fought like an Iwa ninja, had parents that were Iwa ninja, and was a relative newcomer to the class, that he was obviously some sort of Iwa infiltrator. This was the worst of the rumors that permeated the class but it was enough, and the teachers were at a loss as to what to do about it so Kasai was ostracized and very quickly isolated from his peers.

Suzuki assured him however, that most of it came from jealousy. In the majority of his spars he absolutely destroyed his competition. Even the clan kids, like the lone Uchiha in the class, or the pair of Inuzuka, had a tough time sparring against him and lost as often as they won. Even though he was younger than all of them, he was just as big as or bigger than them. Historically, Kasai knew, ninja from Hidden Stone Village were slightly larger and more muscular than their Leaf counterparts. Their larger physique was cultivated by the physically demanding lifestyle that went with not just being a shinobi, but also being a citizen in the harsh Land of Stone. Because of Kasai's size, by dint of his heritage, he could out-muscle and outlast most of them, and his Strong Rock style allowed him to use that to his advantage.

Suzuki was indeed deployed to Kusa two months after Kasai had arrived in the village. He took is philosophically though. Suzuki really was his only friend in the village, a cross between mother and big sister, and the one who took care of him. However, he was an independent child even when living with his parents, so when Suzuki left he continued to live in her apartment by himself. He drew a stipend from the Konoha Orphans Fund so even with the loss of Suzuki's income (She diverted her pay into her bank account which Kasai had no access to), he was able to live relatively comfortably. His expenses were limited to food and training equipment since the apartment and utilities were subsidized by the village.

His academy days passed quickly. The days melded together into an entirely forgettable haze of memories. He would get up early and cook breakfast and make himself a bento for the Academy. At the designated time he would go to the academy and sit through lectures, practice with kunai and shuriken, and spar with his classmates. When the academy was done around four in the afternoon, the real meat of Kasai's day would begin. The scrolls his parents had given him were a treasure trove. He'd been bitter upon discovering that, if attacked, they had never intended to get out but to conceal his presence from enemy Shinobi, so they had written down on a dozen scrolls everything they'd wanted to teach Kasai. Half of them were scrolls to complete the Iwagakure Taijutsu style, the Strong Rock. Upon reading them he'd discovered that they were only halfway through teaching him the style. There were drawings detailing the movements, and detailed notes written in his mothers and fathers hands about everything from the way his body was supposed to feel when doing a specific move to what situation he was supposed to use certain moves in. He spent much of his free time attempting to finish learning his taijutsu style from scrolls and perfecting it.

The other half of the scrolls contained jutsus, techniques that were common in Iwagakure and that Kasai's parents had planned to teach him as he aged. The first was, _Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu_ , a technique that would allow him to burrow through the ground. Next was the _Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu_ , a technique to create a solid clone out of rock. These were the simplest jutsu of the five, both C-rank supplementary techniques. The next was the _Doton: Retsudo Tensho_. This technique, while still C-rank, was more difficult because it was an offensive jutsu and required the user to project his chakra through the ground to make it spiral in on itself and crush enemies caught in it. The final two were the _Doton: Doryuso_ and the _Doton: Doryudan._ Both were B-rank offensive techniques. The first caused spears of earth to burst from the ground to impale the enemy. The second called forth a great dragon made of earth from the ground that could be sent to crush many enemies at once.

Upon finding these scrolls Kasai's excitement was palpable. He had never felt more powerful than when using his chakra to bend the elements to his will. 'Well', he thought with a hint of chagrin, 'Using one jutsu to make a wall of earth that's only twice my height.'

He wanted that feeling again, and so as soon as he'd read through all the scrolls he attempted the easiest one. Unfortunately, the _Moguragakure no Jutsu_ was too difficult for him to do. After his attempt he spent many hours in the night attempting to figure out why in the library. There were few scrolls and tomes that he had access to as an academy student, but from what he could decipher his chakra control wasn't good enough. Even though he could use the _Doton: Doryuheki_ , he couldn't use a technique that required more finesse than raw power. He resolved to work on them after he'd graduated the academy, or at least once he'd gotten the academy three down, the _Henge no Jutsu,_ the _Bunshin no Jutsu,_ and the _Kawarimi no Jutsu._ So far they'd only learned the theory and practiced weaving hand signs for each jutsu. So, he put off learning the techniques in his scrolls in favor of more taijutsu practice and weapons training.

Five months after he'd arrived in Konoha, and three months after Suzuki was deployed, Kasai was advanced into the fourth year class along with the rest of his classmates. Most of the Academy Chunin were surprised that he'd picked up the academics well enough to pass, but none could fault him on his physical skills. He was near the top of the class in both aspects. His ability to absorb copious amounts of information and retain it helped him climb to the top of the academic dogpile, and his physical taijutsu prowess in addition to his above average kunai and shuriken skills put him just under the few clan children in the class. Combined, they gave Kasai's classmates another reason to dislike him. They didn't dare try to bully him, alone or in groups, because he was just as big if not bigger than them and better than them. They could however, isolate him, and that's exactly what they did. His little used social skills would have deteriorated to nothingness from disuse if he had not met one stubbornly social person.

It was a warm day for October in Konoha, so Kasai was taking advantage of it by studying under a tree at the edge of the academy training ground. He was reading a book on encoding and decoding messages. He sat with his back against the tree and his legs stretched out, in between two large roots. His class had gotten out early because their Chunin instructor had a meeting so he'd been sitting there for an hour or so. In the distance he heard the rest of the children leave the academy in a stampede. He ignored it, until one set of quickly moving footsteps started moving in his direction. He set the book down and twisted his head around to see, only to have someone crash into him.

He was bowled over by a black blur and his reflexes took over. One arm dropped down to the kunai pouch strapped to his thigh and the other came up to snare the collar on the jacket of his assailant. He whipped his body around and in a moment was on top with a kunai to the boys throat. And it was a boy who had run into him. He was smaller than Kassai, with spiky black hair and black eyes that were covered up with orange goggles. With his assailant pinned beneath him Kasai took a second to catch his breath and let his mind catch up to the situation. In that time the kid pinned beneath him shouted, "Whoa! That was awesome!"

Kasai was nonplussed and he could only reply, "What?"

"It was awesome! I was running and then tripped and then BAM! You moved so fast I didn't even know what was happening!"

Kasai took the kunai away from the kids throat and moved off of him before asking, "What are you doing?"

The kid sat up and shook his head as if to shake out the cobwebs, "I was going home, and then I ran into you."

Kasai rolled his eyes, "Alright, who are you?"

The kid flashed a grin and a thumbs up, "I'm Uchiha Obito! I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

Kasai was nonplussed, "Uh. You do that Uchiha-san."

If it was even possible the kids smile got bigger and his thumbs up vibrated with pent up energy, "I sure will! Hey, can you teach me how to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Be that awesome! You had me pinned so quick I didn't even know what happened!"

Kasai shrugged, "I train a lot. If you want to be Hokage you probably should too."

Obito's head was a blur as he nodded, "I do! If I train with you I can get better faster!"

Kasai felt a stirring of panic as he verbally backpedaled, "Whoa, I didn't agree to anything."

It later occurred to Kasai that little kids, (And it never occurred to Kasai that he was one of them), could use puppy dog eyes to great effect. Over the course of three minutes Kasai found himself agreeing to training with Obito three days a week and, no he wasn't just going to ditch him, and yes, he really would help him out. When Obito was happily skipping home Kasai could only stare dumbly after him. He looked down to the book that was sitting open on the ground and the kunai in his hand before asking himself out loud, "What the hell just happened?"

Uchiha Obito was a six year old with far too much energy, in Kasai's opinion. Kasai didn't get to introduce himself until their second meeting, whereupon he quickly became, Kasai-senpai. Obito was a second year academy student who was dead last in his class. He spent a lot of time doing chores and helping elderly Uchiha carry their groceries. Kasai thought that his strange inability to say no to people directly correlated with his ability to convince Kasai to pretty much do anything. Obito needed help with his kunai throwing? Kasai took a few hours after the academy to work with him. The little Uchiha didn't understand chakra and what they did with it, Kasai wrote him a summary of three different books and then explained it to him when the summary didn't work. Obito was smart, he just needed someone to explain academic concepts in a way that the Chunin instructors certainly weren't. It was nice though, for Kasai, to have a friend.

Obito certainly was his friend. His first friend. His parents were his parents, and Suzuki had slipped into the elder sister role. He didn't really know anybody else in Konoha, thus, Obito was his first friend. His days changed after he met Obito. He still got up early, but now he made two bentos with breakfast. Half the time Obito either forgot to bring one and the other half he gave it to one of his younger cousins. His classes were as normal because Obito was two years below him. After classes were done Obito latched onto him like a leech. They would practice taijutsu together, or Kasai would help Obito with his schoolwork, and just hang out together. Obito tried to get Kasai to do something fun. They'd go out to eat, or go play at the park, Obito even took him to see a movie. They settled into a pattern that wasn't broken until the end of January.

Obito had followed him home like most days. However, today wasn't like most days. Kasai could have trained in the rain, and he could have trained in the snow, but he could not train in the mix of snow and rain and slush that was coming down outside and so he and Obito had repaired to his apartment. Obito had some extra studying to do, like always, and Kasai had offered to help him, like always. Obito was sitting cross legged on the couch squinting at a scroll while Kasai was in the kitchen, making dinner. Living on his own had given him a good handle on working in the kitchen so he cooked a lot for himself and Obito. The Uchiha groaned from behind him and Kasai turned from where he was cutting vegetables, "What's the problem now?"

"Well, I don't see why I have to memorize all the uses of the hand seals. If I can make them, then what is the problem."

Kasai walked over and sat down next to him, "Well. If you watch somebody make hand seals, you can anticipate what jutsu your opponent is going to use. Most Katon techniques end with a Tiger seal, like your _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_. So, if I see you finish a technique that ends with a tiger seal, then I can assume you're using some type of fire jutsu and respond appropriately."

Obito looked annoyed, "But I'll have the Sharingan, It'll just tell me what jutsu they're using."

Kasai grinned, knowing he had something to hook Obito into studying, "What about if you want to invent your own jutsus? If you don't know what the hand seals do then how are you going to know what seals to make for your awesome new technique?"

Obito brightened and set to work with a new fervor, "Alright! I'll learn them all and then make a super awesome jutsu that will make me Hokage!"

Kasai ruffled the little Uchiha's hair, "You do that. They'll be on a test later."

He turned around to move back to the kitchen and ran into a solid body that said in a feminine voice, "Who's your friend squirt?"

He looked up to see the familiar face of Suzuki. Kasai wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly,"Suzuki! When did you get back."

She ruffled his hair just like he'd done to Obito a moment ago, "Just now. You just weren't paying attention."

Kasai pouted, "I was busy. It takes a lot to explain anything to Obito."

The aforementioned Uchiha reacted indignantly, "Oi! The teachers never explain anything right."

Suzuki smiled at the both of them, "So, who's your friend Kasai-kun?"

Kasai nodded at Obito, "This is Uchiha Obito. Obito-san, this is Saitama Suzuki. I live with her."

Obito looked slightly confused, "I thought you lived alone."

Kasai shrugged, "I did. Now Suzuki-san is back and I live with her."

The Uchiha asked, "Where was she."

"Kusa."

"Why?"

Suzuki cut in, "If you hadn't noticed kid, we're at war."

Obito looked sheepish, "Ah, right. Well, maybe I should go home then."

The older woman laughed, "Oh no. You can stay for dinner and tell me all about how you got Kasai to lighten up a bit."

Kasai pouted, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Suzuki smiled, "It means all you did those first two months was train. I don't think you had any fun whatsoever. Now, I'm going to take a shower. You can finish dinner. Obito can finish his homework. Then we can all sit down and talk."

Kasai was happy for the first time in a long time that night. Suzuki was there and he hadn't seen her for months. It was surprising how much he'd missed her presence, he certainly hadn't realized that until she was back. Obito was there, and his presence kept the table fun and lively. It had been a long time since Kasai had eaten a meal with more than one person, and he certainly enjoyed it.

After they'd finished and cleaned up, Obito left, promising to come back the next day. Suzuki and Kasai sat down on the couch together and the woman started their conversation, "How've you been Kasai-kun. Really."

Kasai shrugged, "I've been fine. What about you though. Kusa was dangerous!"

The woman laughed and shook out her wet hair, which was longer than it had been six months before, "It was rough, but not really that dangerous. For me at least. I spent most of the time guarding the rear area. Supplies and the medical tents mostly."

The younger boy was eager for her stories, "Did you fight anyone?"

Suzuki's smile dampened just a bit, "I was in a few skirmishes. Iwa certainly wanted to cut our supply lines. I took a kunai to the leg about three months ago. Luckily enough it was right outside a medical tent so they dragged me inside and had me patched up in about five minutes. Other than that it was pretty quiet for me. The guys on the front line got roughed up pretty bad though. We've been slowly losing ground for the past six months but we stabilized the lines before we were pushed back into Fire Country."

Kasai leaned over and put his arms around her waist again and laid his head on her lap, "I'm just glad you're alright."

Suzuki laid a hand on his head before replying, "Me to kid. Me to."

* * *

Suzuki was on leave for three months to recover from her deployment. Roughly two thirds of the available chunin were deployed at one time, and one third were at home guarding the village and recovering from their deployment. Divided into three groups, they were deployed for six months and then brought home for three. They were off for one month to recover from lingering injuries and from six months of hard living and fighting. After that they were back to training and running missions. After two months of that they were redeployed and another third of the Chunin would come home. There was always a small permanent force of younger Chunin stationed in the village that taught at the academy and did guard duty around the village.

Because Suzuki had so much free time, she was able to spend much of it with Kasai. She gave him someone much more skilled in taijutsu for him to spar against and so he had to push himself to keep up with her. She helped him with his throwing skills and his shuriken and kunai scores at the academy pulled even with the with the clan kids. They finally learned the academy three and Suzuki would have helped Kasai if he'd needed it. He definitely had enough chakra to use the jutsus, and with a year of chakra control exercises under his belt, it only took him a week to learn each one. Only the Uchiha picked up on them that fast, and Uchiha Tekka was going to be rookie of the year.

With the academy three under his belt, he excitedly moved on to the jutsu that his parents left him, and that's where Suzuki's help really came in handy. Even with all her help he still hadn't gotten the hang of _Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu,_ the jutsu he had chosen to work on first, by the time she was redeployed at the end of April. It was unfortunate that she was going to miss his graduation by two weeks, but Kasai understood why she was leaving, and didn't blame her. They did make arrangements however, to move to a slightly larger apartment. Legally she'd taken him on as a dependent so after the paperwork went through they were allotted a slightly larger apartment. They moved into it a week before she was deployed and held a small party to celebrate. Her teammates Kinoue, Shigure, and Kosuke brought takeout and they spent the night telling stories and reminiscing about their own genin days, which were they were only a few years removed from.

After Suzuki was deployed Kasai spent his last three weeks of his academy career with his nose to the grindstone. While Suzuki was there he'd finished learning everything he could from the scrolls and she had helped him work it all smoothly into his taijutsu repertoire. Even though he remembered it all perfectly he reread all of the material that the academy instructors had given out, just in case he missed something. According to Obito he'd turned into a boring no fun old man, but coming from a six year old Kasai didn't pay it too much heed.

The day came for his genin exam and he passed it with flying colors, second in his class behind Uchiha Tekka. He wasn't that disappointed, from what he'd learned the Uchiha started training young and their academy students almost always took the top spots. Obito notwithstanding. The new graduates had the weekend to get their files updated and make any last minute preparations for becoming genin. Kasai celebrated by taking Obito for barbecue and giving him tips about the graduation exam. He also bought himself some new clothing, black pants and dark blue long sleeved shirts, both made of a tough fiber common in shinobi clothes. Tough new shinobi sandals were also on the list. It might have been a transformative experience, shedding the clothes of his childhood and his life before Konoha, but Obito tagged along and made all sorts of outlandish suggestions including a bright red shirt and an orange eyesore of a scarf. Needless to say Kasai got out of the clothing shop as quickly as possible.

He arrived at the academy bright and early on Monday, dressed in his new clothing and hitai-ate tied tightly around his forehead. He was the first one into the classroom and sat down in his normal seat at the front. Only a minute later the door slid open and Uchiha Tekka walked in, his own hitai-ate wrapped around his neck. He glanced around the classroom for a bit before striding purposefully over to Kasai. The younger boy looked at the Uchiha in surprise and raised a questioning eyebrow when Tekka made it over to him. The Uchiha nodded at him before starting, "Murayama-san, I know that we've had our differences, but I think we should put those behind us and work together as comrades. Shinobi of Konohagakure."

Both of Kasai's eyebrows rose up at that, "That's a pretty big change in attitude Uchiha-san. Why the change."

Tekka sat down beside him and said, "We've both graduated. I don't think we're going to be on the same team but we might be sent out on missions together. You're graduating second and I want to know if I can trust you on a mission."

Kasai reached up to tap his forehead protector, "I wear this. You wear this. As long as we get the job done I don't really care what you think about me."

He was surprised when the Uchiha almost cracked a smile, "That's the right attitude. Too many of the idiots in our class think being a ninja is fun or cool. It's not. It's a job and we have a duty to Konoha to protect it. They don't really understand that."

Kasai was nonplussed, "Still. You've never wanted anything to do with me. Why not? And it's not a trust issue. We won't have missions together until at least chunin and by then I'll have proved I can be trusted."

The Uchiha looked a bit embarrassed, "Really it's about Obito. He's my cousin and kind of the black sheep of the clan. He's, well, kind of an idiot."

Kasai cut in with a snort, "He has no attention span whatsoever and doesn't do anything unless it's, in his words, awesome."

Tekka rolled his eyes, "Exactly. I try and watch out for him but the clan is really strict and he butts head with anyone and everyone in authority. He's become more, how should I say, studious since he started hanging out with you. It's won you a few fans among the Uchiha elders who've tried to get Obito to conform to how an Uchiha is supposed to act."

Kasai laughed, "Uptight? Stiff-necked? Obito is never going to be anything but himself."

That got a wry smile, "Yes. But if he can be himself and be a respectable shinobi then the elders won't come down so hard on him."

The younger boy smiled, "Ah. This is about the extra training?"

Tekka nodded, "You're the only one he listens to. I think he looks up to you. You've got him to train more and I'm glad. He's less likely to die in the field because he's got delusions of grandeur."

Kasai nodded, "So, you're making nice with me because I've been helping Obito?"

The Uchiha nodded, "I'm just glad he made a friend. Obito may be young, and an idiot, but he's a pretty good judge of character. So, friends?"

Kasai extended his hand and they both shook, "Friends."

They continued to talk as the class filled up, each earning questioning glances from the students until the chunin instructor entered and called for their attention, "Alright brats, listen up! Good job on graduating, now here are your team assignments."

He gave out teams and Kasai didn't pay much attention until his name was called, "Murayama Kasai, Kobayashi Michiru, and Tanaka Yuuma. You're Team Five under Saito Takashi."

A tall man wearing jonin blues, a dark green vest, a worn hitai-ate on his forehead, and a katana sheathed on his back stepped forward, "Team five, follow me."

He strode purposefully from the room and three boys scrambled to follow him. Kobayashi Michiru was a brown haired brown eyed boy a millimeter shorter than Kasai, who had grown to a height of 4 feet 6 inches, quite tall for an eight almost nine year old boy. Tanaka Yuuma had dark blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was shorter than Kasai by three inches and wore black pants with a dark green shirt, and his hitai-ate tied around his left arm. The three boys ran after their new sensei, through Konoha, and to a remote training ground. There was a large clearing with a training dummy stuck directly in the center. Kasai's new jonin sensei stopped near the training dummy and waited for the boys to catch up to him. Kasai was the first, arriving only seconds behind Takashi. The other two were behind Kasai, and they were panting by the time they arrived at the training ground.

Takashi surveyed them and started, "We will now introduce ourselves. I will go first. My name is Saito Takashi. I have been a jonin for seven years and am primarily a kenjutsu practitioner. I like reading books and eating Korean barbecue. I dislike long range ninjutsu users, rat bastards. Now, introduce yourselves."

The three boys glanced at each other before Michiru stepped up, "I'm Kobayashi Michiru. I like spending time with my big brother and sister. I dislike pickles."

Yuuma went next, "My name is Tanaka Yuuma. I'm a genin, and I'm going to be a chunin this time next year. I like throwing kunai and shuriken, and I'm going to learn to use as many weapons as I can. I dislike teachers pets."

Yuuma threw a particularly nasty glance at Kasai. The black haired boy rolled his eyes and went, "My name is Murayama Kasai. I like Konoha, learning new ninjutsu, and hanging out with my friend. I dislike Iwagakure. I'm going to be a long range ninjutsu fighter."

Takashi was not amused and grumbled, "You're my least favorite already. Alright kiddies, listen up. You may have graduated the academy, but you're not genin yet. You have to pass my test first."

Yuuma got angry and started yelling, while Michiru and Kasai glanced around the clearing. Takashi shushed the shouting boy and said, "You have thirty minutes to make a killing blow on this training dummy behind me. The catch is, only the first one to make a killing blow gets to be on my team. I want an apprentice, not three green kids I have to babysit, but Hokage-sama made me take a team first. Come with the intent to kill, because if you don't you'll never get past me."

All three boys glanced at each other shiftily, none of them wanted to pass up the chance at an apprenticeship. Takashi shouted, "Begin." and all three boys turned and shot off to the treeline to hide themselves. The jonin ambled over to the training dummy and slung an arm around its shoulder, much to Kasai's surprise and confusion. It even looked like the man was talking to it. Or himself. Kasai was confused.

He'd hidden himself underneath a bush that gave him a decent view of the clearing, off at an angle from the jonin. He was sure that Takashi-sensei knew where he was. Suzuki had great awareness and could find him no matter how well he hid, so he was sure that a jonin knew where he was without trying. This test was giving Kasai a bad feeling. There was absolutely no way, if that jonin tried, that he was going to pass this test. He couldn't put a scratch on the man if he tried. So, he stilled as much as possible and waited for one of his new teammates to make the first move. It only took a minute for someone to get impatient, and Yuuma burst from the foliage behind their team leader, following a pair of kunai that he'd thrown. One at the target, and one at the jonin. The older man spun around and plucked both from the air before using one to block the kunai thrust from Yuuma. He heard the young boy snarl and Takashi laugh, "It won't be that easy brat."

They engaged in a fierce taijutsu clash and it was only moments after they'd started that Michiru burst from the shrubbery, on the opposite side of the fighting genin and jonin, and headed straight for the training dummy. He got within feet and lunged with a kunai, but in a blur of speed Takashi was there, with Yuuma held in one hand by the collar and blocked with the kunai in his other hand. They began to knife fight, with Yuuma hanging by his collar and yelling the entire time. Takashi quickly disarmed Michiru and then blurred around him to grab the boy by his collar. He lifted both boys up and then slammed their heads together before throwing them in opposite directions back into the woods.

Kasai moved then, in the direction that he'd thrown Michiru, skirting around the clearing through the trees until he reached the boy. He found him sitting with his back against a tree, facing away from the clearing, groaning from the blow he'd taken to his head. Kasai went up to him and crouched down, whispering, "Michiru-san! We should team up. That guy is a jonin and without a plan we're never going to get past him!"

Michiru nodded, gasping a little bit and rubbing his chest and head before saying, "Three is better than two. Let's find Yuuma-san."

The pair started to circle around the clearing, with Kasai in the lead, but before they could find Yuuma the boy burst from the trees and attacked Takashi again. It was obvious now that the jonin was playing with him and as the two boys in the trees watched Kasai said, "Let's use Yuuma-san as a distraction. I'll circle left and in thirty seconds we'll both jump out and attack Takashi-sensei from opposite sides."

Michiru nodded and Kasai moved off, counting as he went. At 25 seconds he stopped and faced the clearing, he'd maybe gone one third of the way around, and was now behind Yuuma and Takashi as they fought. He used the last five seconds to weave hand seals and create two clones, one to either side of him. At the appointed time he sprang forth from the trees, noticing that Michiru was also charging, and threw a kunai into the fight between the jonin and Yuuma. It had the desired effect, and Yuuma was forced to disengage. Kasai shot past him and one clone kicked high, one low, and the real Kasai thrust forward with his kunai. At the same time Michiru was attacking from behind. Takashi ignored his two clones and grabbed his wrist, swinging him around to impact Michiru as the boy kicked towards Takashi. The jonin darted off to stop Yuuma from getting to the training dummy while Kasai got off of Michiru who groaned, "That didn't work."

Kasai helped him up and they turned to get smacked by Yuuma's flying body. The trio went down in a heap. It took a few seconds to get untangled and they all stood up to face a bored looking Takashi. The jonin had a smirk on his face, "Close, but not quite there yet."

Kasai grabbed both of his new teammates by their shoulders and started pulling them backwards saying lowly, "We should retreat, and make a plan."

They quickly turned and followed him into the woods. The three stopped about twenty feet past the treeline and formed an impromptu triangle to talk. Kasai spoke first, "We'll never get past him without working together. We can all work together, get him away from the dummy, and then we can all go and kill the dummy at the same time. If we all do it at the same time, then we all pass the test."

He grinned at his clever workaround to the jonins problem while glancing between the other two. It was Michiru that replied, "Not bad. But how are we going to keep him from catching us. He's way too fast."

Kasai laid out his plan, "Here's what we should do. We go directly for him, and try and drive him to the edge of the clearing. When we get near, I'll step back and raise an Earth Wall between us and him. That should give us enough time to make it back and kill the dummy before he can get to us."

Michiru was nodding and they both looked at Yuuma, who stood with his arms crossed. He shrugged and said, "Sure. Let's do it."

Kasai nodded, please that they had gone along with his plan so easily. They made their way back towards the treeline and hunkered down to survey the jonin. It didn't seem like he'd moved at all. He was standing between them and the dummy, but closer to it than them. Kasai whispered, "Okay. We go straight at him. I'll hold his attention, you two get to his left and start driving him towards his right. When we're close enough to the treeline I'll step back and raise the earth wall. You two will have to hold his attention while I do the jutsu, and when you hear me call out the technique turn straight back. I'll throw a brace of kunai to distract him and you'll be able to get over the wall before it rises to high. That's when we all go for the dummy."

"Got it."

"Sure."

"Then let's go."

The three of them leapt out of the treeline and charged straight towards Takashi. He pulled out a kunai and waited for them. Kasai reached him and began an attack combination to hold his attention while his teammates attacked from the side. They circled him and began attacking his left side, and forced him to break off a kick that would have sent Kasai sailing to block their attacks. The plan was working like a charm. The three potential genin were pushing their Jonin sensei back slowly but surely. It was hard, and all three of them took blows but Takashi was unable to follow up on them because the other two were there. They were near the treeline when Kasai shouted, "Dropping back." and stepped back to begin his jutsu. He was two hand seals in when Yuuma also turned and shot past him. Kasai was so shocked that he stopped the jutsu and whipped his head around in time to see Yuuma stab the training dummy in the heart. The blonde shouted in victory and Takashi called, "Alright. Test's over."

They gathered near the training dummy again. Yuuma had a smirk on his face and when they got over to him he smugly remarked, "Nice plan. But this way I get an apprenticeship and don't have to worry about you two holding me back."

Takashi had a frown on his face as he regarded the trio, "Yeah. About that. You fail."

Yuuma shouted, "What? But I killed the dummy. That's what you said we had to do."

The jonin rolled his eyes, "We're ninja kid. You're supposed to think about something before doing it. The only people that get apprenticeships are real prodigies that don't even need to go to the academy to become genin. That doesn't apply to any of you. So, you should have realized that this test had another layer to it. Can any of you guess what that is?"

Kasai nodded and said dully, "Teamwork."

"And why do you think that?"

He shrugged, "The only time anything worked was when all three of us worked together. You could have beaten us easily enough, but you went easy on us when we all worked together. You even gave us a hint. When me and Michiru worked together the first time you told us we were close."

The jonin nodded, "That's correct. Konoha prioritizes teamwork above everything else. A team will always be able to overcome an individual. That's why jonin-sensei like to give a deceptive test. If a team can work together under adversity, then they can work through anything. I heard your little plan in the trees. Not bad under pressure, but you should know that any jonin or chunin would have been able to get around or over the wall before you could have gotten to the dummy. I was going to let it slide because it showed teamwork, but Yuuma-san decided that he was going to eschew teamwork in favor or his own goals. This caused the team to fail."

Yuuma was fuming. Michiru looked crestfallen. Kasai kept a smooth face as anger inside him roiled. It wasn't his fault that his teammates were too stupid to look beyond the obvious. It certainly wasn't his fault that one of his teammates was too selfish to work with a team. He struggled to keep the anger from showing as Takashi continued, "You've all got the requisite skill to become genin, but you haven't shown the requisite traits to be placed on a genin team. Report to the academy tomorrow to be inducted into the genin corp. Now, you're dismissed. Murayama, stay behind."

Michiru and Yuuma walked off. The brown haired boy with shoulders slumped and the blonde ranting about the injustice of it all. Kasai stayed with Takashi and when they had left the clearing the jonin started, "It's unfortunate that you got placed on a team with them. They're both civilian born. It's hard for kids like them to get into the ninja mindset of looking beyond the obvious. You're more skilled than most genin graduates, your planning and jutsu use are indicative of that."

Kasai shrugged, "A lot of good that does me."

Takashi shrugged, mirroring him, "True. But, you understood the test. You're still going to the genin corp, but I'll see what I can do about bumping you up the list to be placed on an existing team."

"What?"

Takashi explained, "Exceptional genin corp candidates are placed on existing genin teams when one is promoted or killed. There's a list, and you'll get on it pretty quickly. I'll see what I can do about getting you moved to the top."

Kasai smiled in gratitude, "Thanks, Takashi-sensei."

The jonin put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair, "No problem kid. Most of the time the genin corp is a dead end, but I hate to see potential get wasted. Now, get out of here."

Kasai nodded and gave the man another smile before turning and walking out of the clearing. He was disappointed. He knew from his reading and the academy curriculum that jonin, who were the best of the best, almost exclusively came up from genin teams. The genin corp was essential to Konoha, doing much of the menial ninja work around the village, but few worked in the genin corp for more than ten years. Most dropped when they got married because they couldn't support a family on just a genin's pay. Maybe twenty percent of the genin were promoted to chunin because they had trained themselves but it was unheard of for any of those chunin to be promoted to jonin. They just didn't have the foundation and high level training of a genin from a team.

So, Kasai was disappointed in the days outcome. But, he wasn't going to let it stop him. He'd work hard in the genin corp and hope to be noticed by his superiors. Hopefully Takashi-sensei would pull through for him and he'd be placed on a genin team. In the meantime he would train hard, and raise his skills as much as he could so that he wasn't behind any future teammates he may have.


End file.
